Against redemption : democracy, memory, and literature in post-fascist Italy

**Discloses the richness of ideas and sheds light on the controversy that characterized the transition from fascism to democracy, examining authors, works and memories that were subsequently silenced by Cold War politics.** How a shared memory of Fascism and its cultural heritage took shape is still today the most disputed question of modern Italy, crossing the boundaries between academic and public discourse. __Against Redemption__ concentrates on the historical period in which disagreement was at its highest: the transition between the downfall of Mussolini in July 1943 and the victory of the Christian Democrats over the Left in the 1948 general elections. By dispelling the silence around the range of opinion in the years before the ideological struggle fossilized into Cold War oppositions, this book points to early postwar literary practices as the main vehicle for intellectual dissent, shedding new light on the role of cultural policies in institutionalizing collective memory. During Italy’s transition to democracy competing narratives over the recent traumatic past emerged and crystallized, depicting the country’s break with Mussolini’s regime as a political and personal redemption from its politics of exclusion and unrestrained use of violence. Conversely, outstanding authors such as Elsa Morante, Carlo Levi, Alberto Moravia and Curzio Malaparte, in close dialogue with remarkable but now neglected figures, stressed the cultural continuity between the new democracy and Fascism, igniting heated debates from opposite political standpoints. Their works addressed questions such as the working through of national defeat, Italian responsibility in WWII and the Holocaust, revealing how the social, racial, and gender biases that characterized Fascism survived after its demise and haunted the new born democracy. This book challenges the idea of a widespread repression of the Fascist past in early-postwar Italy, arguing for a thorough revision of modern Italian history through the lenses of cultural continuity. It is a unique case study in the broader questions of regime change and transition from dictatorship to democracy. "Discloses the richness of ideas and sheds light on the controversy that characterized the transition from fascism to democracy, examining authors, works and memories that were subsequently silenced by Cold War politics. How a shared memory of Fascism and its cultural heritage took shape is still today the most disputed question of modern Italy, crossing the boundaries between academic and public discourse. Against Redemption concentrates on the historical period in which disagreement was at its highest: the transition between the downfall of Mussolini in July 1943 and the victory of the Christian Democrats over the Left in the 1948 general elections. By dispelling the silence around the range of opinion in the years before the ideological struggle fossilized into Cold War oppositions, this book points to early postwar literary practices as the main vehicle for intellectual dissent, shedding new light on the role of cultural policies in institutionalizing collective memory. During Italy's transition to democracy competing narratives over the recent traumatic past emerged and crystallized, depicting the country's break with Mussolini's regime as a political and personal redemption from its politics of exclusion and unrestrained use of violence. Conversely, outstanding authors such as Elsa Morante, Carlo Levi, Alberto Moravia and Curzio Malaparte, in close dialogue with remarkable but now neglected figures, stressed the cultural continuity between the new democracy and Fascism, igniting heated debates from opposite political standpoints. Their works addressed questions such as the working through of national defeat, Italian responsibility in WWII and the Holocaust, revealing how the social, racial, and gender biases that characterized Fascism survived after its demise and haunted the new born democracy"-- Provided by publisher

Discloses the richness of ideas and sheds light on thecontroversy that characterized the transition from fascism todemocracy, examining authors, works and memories that weresubsequently silenced by Cold War politics. How a sharedmemory of Fascism and its cultural heritage took shape is stilltoday the most disputed question of modern Italy, crossing theboundaries between academic and public discourse. AgainstRedemption concentrates on the historical period in whichdisagreement was at its highest: the transition between thedownfall of Mussolini in July 1943 and the victory of the ChristianDemocrats over the Left in the 1948 general elections. Bydispelling the silence around the range of opinion in the yearsbefore the ideological struggle fossilized into Cold Waroppositions, this book points to early postwar literary practicesas the main vehicle for intellectual dissent, shedding new light onthe role of cultural policies in institutionalizing collectivememory. During Italy's transition to democracy competing narrativesover the recent traumatic past emerged and crystallized, depictingthe country's break with Mussolini's regime as a political andpersonal redemption from its politics of exclusion and unrestraineduse of violence. Conversely, outstanding authors such as ElsaMorante, Carlo Levi, Alberto Moravia and Curzio Malaparte, in closedialogue with remarkable but now neglected figures, stressed thecultural continuity between the new democracy and Fascism, ignitingheated debates from opposite political standpoints. Their worksaddressed questions such as the working through of national defeat,Italian responsibility in WWII and the Holocaust, revealing how thesocial, racial, and gender biases that characterized Fascismsurvived after its demise and haunted the new born democracy.

Contents 5 Introduction: Ruins and Debris of a Contested History 9 1. After Italian Totalitarianism 35 2. The Language of Responsibility 73 3. Ghosts from a Recent Past 104 4. Carlo Levi on the Religion of the State 148 5. Curzio Malaparte, a Tragic Modernity 180 Conclusion: Tearing Down the Monuments 207 Acknowledgments 213 Notes 217 Bibliography 273 Index 303